Airports: Regional Airports

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what policy they have in place to ensure that major regional cities in the United Kingdom will continue to have economically sustainable air route access to London airports.

Earl Attlee: The Government fully recognise the vital contribution airports make to regional economies. It is the Government's intention to develop an aviation policy framework which supports economic growth and seeks to create the right conditions for regional airports to flourish.
	On 30 March, the Department for Transport (DfT) published a scoping document which aims to define the debate to help us develop a new long-term policy to enable aviation to grow in the years to come, while also addressing its environmental impacts. The document, which asks stakeholders to provide views on a full range of issues, including regional connectivity and regional airports, is available on the DfT website.

Banking: Royal Bank of Scotland

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Governor or any directors of the Bank of England or members of its Court were interviewed by PricewaterhouseCoopers in connection with the section 166 report into the failure of Royal Bank of Scotland.

Lord Sassoon: The report into the failure of Royal Bank of Scotland is a matter for the Financial Services Authority, as independent regulator. The Government do not have a copy of the report and cannot confirm who was interviewed.

Care Homes

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether local authorities and government bodies are obliged to make an assessment of the financial strength of care home operators and other providers of essential social services.

Earl Howe: Information on the financial viability of care home operators is sought by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as part of their registration.
	Under Regulation 13 of the CQC (Registration) Regulations 2009 service providers are required to,
	"take all reasonable steps to carry on the regulated activity in such a manner as to ensure the financial viability of the carrying on of that activity for the purposes of:
	(a) achieving the aims and objectives set out in the statement of purpose; and
	(b) meeting the registration requirements prescribed pursuant to Section 20 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008".
	This regulation does not apply where the service provider is an English local authority or a health service body. This is to ensure that,
	"people who use services are confident that the provider has:
	the financial resources needed to provide and continue to provide the services as described in the statement of purpose to the required standards; and
	wherever it is available, insurance and suitable indemnity arrangements to cover potential liabilities arising from death, injury, or other causes, loss or damage to property, and other financial risks".

Children: Missing Children

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many children under the age of 11 who have gone missing in the United Kingdom in each of the past five years are still not accounted for.

Baroness Browning: As the vast majority of missing persons investigations (including missing children cases) are tackled at the local individual police level we do not hold a national picture of the numbers of individual missing children cases that currently remain open.
	This Government understand the particular vulnerabilities that surround children and that is why we recently announced (on May 25) that we will be putting in place a new dedicated child-focused national missing children capability within the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre from 1 July this year. This will improve our national understanding of the nature and scale of this issue and help ensure local agencies have the best support possible to tackle this important issue.

Drugs: Orphan Medicines

Baroness Cumberlege: To ask Her Majesty's Government to what degree access to, and reimbursement of, orphan medicines will be integrated within the design and commissioning of specialised services for rare diseases in both the development of the National Strategy for Rare Diseases and the work of the National Commissioning Board.

Earl Howe: Future commissioning arrangements for specialised services, including those which involve medicines for very small patient groups with rare diseases, are being considered as part of the design work for the NHS commissioning board.
	The response to the European Commission recommendation on the development of a national plan on rare diseases is due in 2013. As part of that work, the department is working with the devolved Administrations and key partners to ensure that the plan responds to the actions identified in Recommendation 2009/C 151/02.

Energy: Smart Meters

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefit to the consumer of the proposed new smart meters; and what consideration is being given to the introduction of a simpler type of meter, not requiring visits or regular reading by the consumer.

Lord Marland: The March 2011 impact assessments for the smart meter programme identified that over the next 20 years the rollout of smart meters is expected to deliver £7.3 billion net benefits to consumers, energy suppliers and networks. Benefits to consumers include real-time information on their energy consumption to help them control energy use, save money and reduce emissions. By 2020, we expect the average consumer, with both electricity and gas supply, to save an average £23 per year on their energy bill.
	In the March 2011 Response to the Prospectus consultation, the Government set out the functional requirements for smart meters. The costs and benefits of a range of different features have been considered and analysed, supported by extensive consultation with industry, consumer groups and other stakeholders. The functional requirements have been developed to ensure the benefits of the programme are delivered. These benefits include removing the need for on-site meter readings by the supplier or consumer, and more accurate billing.

Government: Red Tape Challenge

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the reason for the delay in answering Question for Written Answer HL8640, asking why their Red Tape Challenge invites the public to respond on whether the Equality Act 2010 should be scrapped.

Baroness Verma: I refer my noble friend to the answer of 9 June 2011 (Official Report, cols. WA 149-50).

House of Lords: Wine

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask the Chairman of Committees how the House of Lords Catering and Retail Services support vineyards in England.

Lord Brabazon of Tara: English wines are not included on the wine lists in House of Lords outlets. The supply of table wine to the House of Lords is by means of a framework of six wine suppliers with a contract length of three years which was procured under European Union regulations. English wine has been included on previous wine lists but sales volumes were negligible and uneconomic. However, English wine is procured on special request for private events.

Human Rights

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, regarding the judgment of the Supreme Court in re McCaughey and another (Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission intervening) [2011] UKSC 20, whether the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has considered the implications of this decision for policy; and whether the Police Service for Northern Ireland will continue to investigate killings involving police officers through the historical enquiries team; or whether those cases will be handed over to police forces in Great Britain.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: The Government consider the implications of all judgments of the Supreme Court, including the judgment in re McCaughey and another. Issues relating to the police investigation of deaths in Northern Ireland by the historical enquiries team are devolved matters for the Justice Minister and the chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Immigration

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Jones on 30 March (WA 278), what progress they have made on the consultation with a range of interested parties on the operating standards for pre-departure accommodation at immigration removal centres.

Baroness Browning: The operating standards for the pre-departure accommodation are currently being developed in order to be in place when the facility opens later in the summer.
	Although the operating standards will be circulated to interested parties, there are no plans to consult on them prior to publication, given the need to have them in place for the opening of the pre-departure accommodation. However, as my noble friend Baroness Neville-Jones indicated in her earlier answer, the UK Border Agency proposes to consult a range of interested parties on the operating standards as part of a broader consultation exercise following the review of existing immigration removal centre and escorting operating standards.

National Cask Ale Week

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask the Chairman of Committees what the House of Lords Catering and Retail Services are doing to support National Cask Ale Week 2011.

Lord Brabazon of Tara: Catering and Retail Services do not have any plans to support National Cask Ale Week in October. Cask ale was sold in the Lords' Bar until January 2011 when it was removed due to a very low volume of sales and consequential high wastage. It has been replaced by a selection of bottled real ales which will be reviewed on a regular basis.

NHS: Private Sector

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether NHS commissioning bodies awarding contracts to health providers from the private sector will be required to determine the financial viability of the provider; and what are the resources and standards to be used by the commissioning bodies in reaching this determination.

Earl Howe: The Health and Social Care Bill, as currently drafted, sets out that all providers will be required to apply for a licence from Monitor, the health regulator, who will undertake due diligence and will require that the provider maintains sufficient resources to deliver against its contractual commitments on an ongoing basis. Our policy proposals are subject to outcome of the listening exercise.
	In addition, it would be for commissioners to determine the appropriate due diligence that they must undertake to be assured that any provider responding to a contract will be able to deliver the quality and outcomes required, for the full duration of the contract term.
	Guidance on procurement for clinical services, Procurement Guide for Commissioners of NHS-funded Services, has already been placed in the Library. Standard National Health Service contracts guidance for clinical services, the Standard NHS Contracts for Acute Hospital, Mental Health, Community and Ambulance Services and Supporting Guidance2011-12 (effective from 1 April 2011), is available at: www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publications andstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAnd Guidance/DH_124324.

People Trafficking

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what success the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Strategic Police Matters Unit and the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative Regional Center for Combating Trans-border Crime have had in preventing trafficking in people, drugs and arms, and in prosecuting offenders.

Baroness Browning: The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Strategic Police Matters Unit and the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative Regional Centre for Combating Trans-border Crime continue to be effective platforms for promoting capacity and institution building and training of police forces overseas. By supporting sustainable development in this way, law enforcement agencies of participating states are better able to tackle threats posed by criminal activity (including trafficking in people, drugs and arms) and uphold the rule of law.

Railways: West Coast Franchise

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government why they chose 9 December 2012 as the start date for the new west coast franchise; and what assessment of the risks of disruption due to Christmas and bad weather they undertook before setting this date.

Earl Attlee: The start date of the new InterCity west coast franchise was chosen to allow the new franchisee to begin as soon as practicable while allowing a period of consultation on the train service proposed and ensuring operators could concentrate on delivery of services over the main Olympic period.
	The risk of bad weather and its potential impact was not considered to be an overriding factor in the decision, though it was taken into account. The potential risks of mobilisation over the Christmas and new year holiday period were weighed up against other factors in the selection of 9 December 2012 as the new franchise commencement date.

Vehicles: Electric

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what proposals they have to encourage the use of vehicles powered by electricity.

Earl Attlee: The Government are committed to reducing carbon and other emissions from all sectors including road transport. As part of our overall strategy, we are supporting a number of measures to promote the increased use of low-carbon vehicles including electric cars. Details can be found on the website of the Office for Low Emission Vehicles at http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/olev/. The main measures are:
	since 1 January 2011 motorists purchasing a qualifying ultra-low emission car are eligible to receive a grant of 25 per cent towards the cost of the vehicle, up to a maximum of £5,000 under the plug-in car grant (PICG) scheme. As of 31 March 2011, 465 cars had been ordered through the PICG;we are also committed to mandating a national recharging network for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, and will be publishing an electric vehicle infrastructure strategy this summer. The plugged-in places (PIP) programme provides match-funding to local consortia of businesses and public sector partners to encourage installation of the recharging infrastructure needed to support use of electric vehicles. This will give investors and consumers confidence in the provision of charging facilities in the UK and remove an important barrier to the wider uptake of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Learning from the programme will feed into the infrastructure strategy; the Government are also funding a programme of research and development work to support the ongoing progression of this new generation of vehicles; and the department has paid £46.8 million to local authorities and bus operators to assist them in purchasing 526 hybrid-electric and 16 all-electric buses. More details are available on the DfT website: http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/buses/greenbusfund/greenbusfundbusdetails/.